Backups of very large databases have limitations in that they require a large movement of data from the database files to backup media. In a cloud environment, that may mean moving data from cloud storage to a virtual machine and back to cloud storage, crossing expensive boundaries. Storage system snapshots have helped this by providing a metadata-only mechanism to achieve an image of the storage at that point in time. However, this has had the disadvantage that such backups cannot restore the database to an arbitrary point in time between snapshot backups. Rather, the backup is only restored to the point of the snapshot, and any changes to the database after the backup are lost.
Other solutions have relied on streaming backups, which suffer from the data movement problem, or they rely completely on snapshots, which give the ability to restore only to the discrete times when the snapshot is taken.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.